Hocus-Pocus: Focus of Ford Focus Ads is Disappearing Gas-Price Pain

06.08.2011

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The contrast between a gas pump pouting over prices and the all-new fuel-efficient 2012 Ford Focus brings to life a new outdoor ad campaign created by Eric Mower and Associates for the Western New York Ford Dealers.

“Gas prices rub people’s nerves raw, and these ads show how 40 miles per gallon in the Ford Focus can ease that pain,” said Chuck Basil, chairman of the Western New York Ford Dealers. “The performance, engineering and technology of the Focus, coupled with its gas efficiency, make it exceed virtually any vehicle in this class. Our main challenge is getting enough of them to meet demand—and that's a good problem."

EMA created billboards to reintroduce the newly designed Ford Focus to the Western New York market, which includes Rochester and Buffalo, N.Y., and Erie, Penn. They feature four gas nozzles that are feeling the pain of the economical 40-mpg gas mileage of the Focus because it means drivers are spending less money at the pump. A knotted nozzle and another converted into a baby bottle show that the new Focus consumes gas only in sips. A frowny-face nozzle shows the gas pump saddened to see Focus drivers keeping money in their wallet, instead of pouring it down the tank. And a tiny pump held by a normal-sized hand puts Focus drivers’ lower gasoline costs in perspective.

“We want people to focus on a single idea: The Focus is a great vehicle that gets 40 miles per gallon. To illustrate gasoline savings, we don’t need an ad cluttered with words when a dramatic visual can draw people in and make that point,” said Cray Cyphers, partner at EMA.

EMA has been working with Western New York Ford Dealers for more than 30 years.

About Mower

Mower is a digitally-integrated independent marketing, advertising and public relations agency. With 165 professionals in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse, Mower delivers strategic insights, digital solutions, smart creative, and award-winning results to clients. Part of two global agency networks — thenetworkone and IPREX — as well as the 4A’s.